Chelsea couldn't make heads or tails of the gum in the shop.
Since working here, she'd tried almost every single one, except "Death Plague" because, well, the reason was obvious really, and she still had yet to understand the flavors of them all and the nuances between them. Personally, she was a fan of Garlic Thunder, two things she never would think could go well together or could be put together, but somehow someone here had found a way. She finally pulled the wad of gum from her mouth and wrapped it back up in the foil, putting the tiny ball into a little container with all the others as she sighed and looked at Polaris. "I've got to admit," he said, "I'm tempted to try Death Plague, if only to say I did." "It's not like you get a t-shirt that says you survived it," Chelsea remarked. "It's not about recognition, Chelsea, it's about the acknowledgement from yourself. It's like going on a rollercoaster. You don't do it because you think it'll impress others, you do it because you'll be proud of yourself for having faced a fear," he replied, taking his own gum wad from his featureless face and wrapping it back up in foil, adding it to the pile. "How do you chew without a mouth?" Chelsea asked, leaning on the counter. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," he said. Chelsea chuckled, then looked at all the stuff on the counter along with the gum. There were cans of mints, airline sized bottles of alcohol and magazines. All the normal kinds of things you'd find in any regular convenience store, except here the magazines were written in a language nobody human would understand, the bottles of booze would liquify her insides and the mints were actually alive until you bit into them, unleashing their inner freshness. All in all, terrifying, quite frankly. She looked back at Polaris, who had lit his pipe and begun smoking. "I was told I could eat or drink anything in the shop that I want, but I can't tell what's safe for me to consume, honestly," Chelsea said, "I don't wanna leave and go looking for food either, cause I don't know what's safe out there, food or otherwise." "You should just start bringing a bag lunch," Polaris said. "I can do that?" "Sure, why not," Polaris said, "bring a sandwich and a piece of fruit and a drink in a paper bag. Nobody's gonna stop you, and at least you know it won't kill you outright." "Unless I choke on it," Chelsea said under her breath. "Yeah but that's your fault," he replied, making her laugh. "Excuse me?" a voice asked, as what appeared to be a young woman with the head of a cow skull approached the counter, "I think I need assistance." "What can I do for you?" Chelsea asked, straightening up, ready to work. "Well," the woman said, "I got this sandwich out of the deli aisle, and there's something living inside of it." She plopped a saran wrapped sandwich down on the counter, and for a moment, as everyone leaned in to look, nothing could be seen. Then suddenly, and without warning, a small baby faced creature poked its head out from the innards of the sandwich and pressed its adorable face against the wrap, cooing at them. Chelsea and Polaris exchanged a glance, before looking back at the woman. "Well, you didn't buy it, so I can't refund you," Chelsea said, "What can I do?" "...I think we need to raise it," the woman said. "...what?" Chelsea asked flatly. Polaris leaned down closer, examining the sandwich, and after a moment he stood back up, seemingly satisfied with his findings. "What we have here, ladies, is what's known as a Squatter," he said, "They're tiny creatures that take refuge in places they shouldn't so they get raised by someone other than those that gave birth to them. They're not dangerous, and they're relatively easy to bring up, given that they age at about 5 times the normal rate of anything else. In an hour this thing will be a kid, in 2 hours a teenager and in 3 hours a full grown adult. I'd say you have your work cut out for you, but when the workload is such a short time span, I don't think that saying really applies." Chelsea leaned down again and looked at the creature. It was bald and yellow, with blue swirling galaxies for eyes a little nubby teeth. It smiled up at her, and she felt her heart warm. Guess it was time to be a mother. *** "It's a good thing this place at least has coloring books," Chelsea said as she watched the Squatter, whom they'd named Enos, sit on the counter and color. The cow skull woman, whom Chelsea had since learned was named Aegis, was leaning against the counter coloring with them. "Coloring books are the best way to develop hand eye coordination for youngsters," Aegis said, "It also teaches them to be more creative. They learn that they can do things with their hands, and if they enjoy doing so, make a career out of it." "Are you in a creative field?" Chelsea asked. "Yes, I design dresses," Aegis said, "What about you?" "I mean, I work here, so," Chelsea said, shrugging. "You don't do anything outside of this?" "I'm in college elsewhere, but I'm not really sure what it is exactly I wanna do just yet," Chelsea replied, "I guess I could do something creative, I mean, I used to like making stuff with clay when I was a kid, so maybe sculpting or something would be up my alley." "Look!" Enos said, holding up the page and showing Chelsea a horse that was colored completely black with glaring red eyes, like it was sent directly from the deepest depths of hell itself; he looked so proud though, and Chelsea couldn't help but pat him on the head and smile. "That's beautiful, good job!" she said. If nothing else, she figured, she could be more encouraging than her own parents had ever been. *** By the following hour, Enos was a teenager. Turns out Polaris had been right after all, and their growth rate was way faster. Despite being a teenager, however, Enos wasn't surly or withdrawn, like most teenagers Chelsea had known in her youth. He was still the inquisitive, sensitive little guy he had been the previous hour, just bigger now, and more capable of verbally expressing himself. As Chelsea watched Aegis teach Enos how to prepare his own food, she heard the bell over the door ring, and saw Xorlack enter. She smiled as she approached the counter. "What's going on?" Xorlack asked, almost laughing at the absurdity she'd walked in on. "This customer found a Squatter living in the sandwich she was gonna buy, and now we're raising it until it grows up," Chelsea said, "Should only be another few hours." "You had a child with someone else? I'm hurt," Xorlack said, making Chelsea laugh. "Don't worry, she means nothing to me," Chelsea replied, both of them laughing now as Xorlack leaned in and kissed her on the cheek; Chelsea blushed then asked, "What are you doing here anyway? You just come by to see me?" "Yeah, and to get some snacks for movie night. Me and the girls are having a night in and watching a lot of romantic comedies, and I was sent to get the snacks. Well, more that I volunteered, cause I knew I'd get to see you," she replied. "You are a romantic comedy," Chelsea remarked. Xorlack went about her business, grabbing a basket and dropping items into it while Chelsea watched Aegis and Enos finish their food preparation and then eat. She suddenly found that she couldn't help but smile. In fact, she'd been smiling this entire night since Enos had been discovered, and she didn't really understand why. "It's maternal," Polaris said, making her scream a little. "Stop doing that!" she shouted. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom, I just got back," he said, "anyway what you're feeling is maternal. You wanna do for him what your own folks didn't do for you. You wanna prove to yourself that you're better than they were. It's the same thing as the gum or the rollercoaster. Your own judgement is what really matters. Sure, it'd be easy to point and say 'see, I'm doing this to show up my parents! make them proud of me!' but really you're doing it for you, and for that little guy I guess." "I've never once wanted children," Chelsea said, "why would I care so much now?" Polaris lit a cigar and exhaled smoke, then sighed. "I think it's this place, this shop, this dimension, it brings out the best in us," he said, "When I was human-" "Wait, WHAT?" Chelsea asked, jarred by this admission, but he merely ignored her and continued on. "-I never once cared about anything. I was like you. Drifting and aimless. Feeling not just forgotten but let down by the world as a whole, and those who inhabited it. Once I came here, and once I came here for good, I really found myself. Really found who I was and who I should be, who I COULD be. Suddenly all the things I never cared about doing meant the most to me. Suddenly I saw myself doing things I never would've imagined, because now I could do them, and now they mattered." Chelsea looked away from him back to Aegis and Enos. Aegis was laughing at something Enos had said, before looking back at the counter and waving politely, Polaris and Chelsea returning the wave. Chelsea sighed and scratched her forehead. "My parents aren't bad," she said, "They just...aren't anything. They're barely there." "And now so are you," Polaris remarked. He had a point, Chelsea thought. Maybe Enos wasn't the only one rapidly growing up. *** "What does an adult do?" Enos asked, now an adult himself, following Chelsea around the store as she did inventory while Aegis read a magazine at the counter, giving herself a break. Chelsea shrugged and shook her head as she marked something down on a clipboard. "Frankly, I have no earthly idea. Whatever they want, I guess, so long as it doesn't hurt others," Chelsea said, "That's what I always believed anyway. So pick what you like best, and then try and help others with it. Art is a great example. You can make art, and art can help others." "But...but what if nobody likes what I make?" Enos asked, and Chelsea stopped dead in her tracks, then turned and knelt, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Sweetheart, you make it for you, first and foremost. If it helps others, that's great, but you do what you do for yourself. Some may call that selfish, but you're the one you most need to look out for, because almost nobody else will. I'll always be here, and you can always come see me, but in the end, you need to create your own happiness. If that happiness spills out and splashes onto those around you, then you've done something spectacular without even trying, and that's the best way of all to do so." Chelsea almost couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. She'd never once been told these sorts of things, so why was she saying them as if they were gospel? Perhaps Polaris was right. Perhaps it was simply innate to being here, in this place, in this shop. Enos seemed to accept her answer, and hugged her tightly. She felt herself starting to cry, and squeezed him back. Within the next hour or so, Enos had gathered his things and left the shop, on his way to make his own in the world outside. Watching him go, Chelsea couldn't help but feel like a part of herself now lived here...and she couldn't be happier for that. *** "Well," Aegis said, "I suppose I should dawdle off as well." "It's been a long night," Chelsea said as Aegis put her things on the counter to pay for them, but Chelsea waved her away, "No no, it's...you're fine. Free of charge. You did enough." "...you think he'll be okay?" Aegis asked. "I don't know. I can hope so. I think that's all any parent can really do, right? Is hope their kid will find a way to be alright in the world," Chelsea said, "I think he'll be alright. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and he had two smart ladies to help him through it." Aegis smirked. This was the last thing she had expected to be doing tonight. All she'd wanted was a sandwich. "Well, thanks for the help," Aegis said, "It's nice to know this place is in good hands." "Anytime, and thanks for shopping with us, we hope to see you again," Chelsea said. Aegis gathered her items in her bag and headed out the door. As she left, Chelsea finally relaxed, laying her face against the counter. After a moment, she got up and headed across the store to the rack that had magnets on it and plucked one off. She then walked back behind the counter and, turning to face the metal shelving behind her, put up the black devil horse that Enos had colored in for her. She stood back, hands on her hips, and admired his handiwork. "They grow up so fast," Polaris said, approaching the counter with a candy bar. "Shut up," Chelsea said, snickering. "You know, you'd make a good mom," Polaris added. "...eh, been there, done that," she replied, glancing back at the picture, "it was a great experience, but I think once was enough. I don't think I could ever love another the way I loved him. He's my son, after all."
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Chelsea Teages is trying to pay her way through college, and has taken a job as a cashier at a local convenience store that may or may not be in an alternate dimension. Archives
November 2022
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